Navigational Chart
NOAA Offers Free Navigational Charts on Web
Mariners can now get free electronic downloads of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Raster Navigational Charts or RNCs. NOAA will produce official raster charts and deliver weekly updates with Notice to Mariners—notices containing changes in local navigational information. The NOAA Web site will contain a fully updated raster chart for each chart in NOAA's suite. A cumulative file of updates with Notice to Mariner information for each chart edition will be posted on the Web site. NOAA will distribute the free raster charts and updates the same way it distributes NOAA electronic navigational charts online. The NOAA Coast Survey anticipates establishing a program where commercial value-added providers may download the raster charts for free, compress, encrypt, and/or package them with additional data or services, and then may sell that product. By adhering to a set of NOAA-specified practices, these raster charts will retain their official status and their original high quality and accuracy. No date has been set by which the value-added redistributors program will be in place. NOAA also plans to make the raster charts available on the Web site in an easy-to-view format for non-navigational purposes, such as port security and management, marine boundary delineation, coastal zone management, and environmental assessment and spill response.
Australian Electronic Chart Service Launched
On the recent UN World Hydrography Day the Hydrographer of Australia announced enlarged ENC coverage & a new AusENC service AMSA's Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mick Kinley, was a guest of honour at a celebration held at the Australian Hydrographic Office in Wollongong on Thursday 21 June to celebrate United Nations World Hydrography Day. Commodore Rod Nairn AM, RAN (Hydrographer of Australia) used the event to mark Australia's achievement of Electronic Navigational Chart
New Mini-IENC To Provide Specialized Navigation
The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and the Crescent River Port Pilots Association (CRPPA) have announced the partnering efforts of the Crescent River Port Pilots and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE-MVN) to develop and produce the innovative Mini-Inland Electronic Navigational Chart, dubbed Mini-IENC. The Mini-IENC provides essential, special vertical and horizontal navigation clearance information to the CRPPA while piloting the
NOAA Raster Charts Available Online
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is making available online its Raster Nautical Charts (RNC). These charts are geo-referenced, full-color images of NOAA’s paper nautical charts, published by NOAA in the .BSB format. NOAA updates the RNC for Notices to Mariners on a weekly basis. They are an official product of NOAA and meet the S-61 Standard – Raster Navigational Charts – of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
Drunken Freighter Captain Gets 14 Days
According to a Nov. 4 report from CBC News, the captain of a South Korean freighter has been sentenced to 14 days in a U.S. jail for commanding a vessel through the Juan de Fuca Strait at the south end of Vancouver Island while drunk and without any navigational charts. (Source: CBC News)
ENC Production Fast & Easy Way Demo at HYDRO 12
Germany's SevenCs to demonstrate Electronic Navigational Chart production & distribution at upcoming Rotterdam expo. The features of the product mainly focus on easy data production and effective validation of ENCs for Hydrographic Offices, Waterway Authorities, Ports, Pilots or Navies. With its new ENC Encryptor SevenCs is taking the usability of ENC data to the next level. Local ENC data can be safely distributed via permit protection without the need to provide data via a RENC
The Marine Electronic Highway
Implementation of the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) Demonstration Project in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is set to begin shortly, following the signing of a $6.86 million grant agreement between the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The four-year regional demonstration project aims to link shore-based marine information and communication infrastructure with the corresponding navigational and communication facilities
UKHO Updates Digital Navigation
Trusted Admiralty information now viewed instantly on the Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) for easier passage planning The UKHO today announced another simple way to view the most accurate and up-to-date navigational charts, with the release of SevenCs ORCA Master Electronic Chart System (ECS) compatible with the Admiralty Information Overlay. The Overlay, brings the latest navigational updates from Admiralty to an ECDIS or ECS to help make digital navigation safer
NOAA’s New Chart Supports Puerto Rico Maritime Economy
The Port of San Juan, which is experiencing a tremendous growth of maritime traffic and planning for more, received an additional economic boost today when NOAA debuted a new nautical chart that will make ocean-going vessel traffic safer and more efficient through San Juan Bay and the port area. “There is not only more traffic, but larger vessels are making San Juan their port call,” said Capt. John Lowell, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey
The New ENC Analyzer is Now Available
A new version of ENC Analyzer, which implements over 900 individual checks, is now available. The new ENC Analyzer 3.0.0 can be supplemented with the optional Horizontal and Vertical Consistency (HVC) Module. The consistent encoding of features is one of the major challenges facing ENC producers. Cartographic principles that relate to individual charts also need to be applied to the seamless chart display, whether it is composed of one or multiple ENCs
ChartCo Fits SeaSpan with Navigation Software
ChartCo announced that SeaSpan Corporation, an independant owner of container ships, has placed an order with ChartCo to fit its navigation data management system across the entire fleet. ChartCo will install its full software suite, including PassageManager
New Version of Electronic Navigation Chart 'Analyzer'
The new version Analyzer 3.1 software, by SevenCs & L-3 Oceania, now offers improved user handling & new functionalities. The providers say that this is the market leading validation tool and is constantly being advanced to keep up with the latest official standards and user
Arctic Voyage Planning Guide Published
The Arctic Voyage Planning Guide (AVPG), published by Fisheries & Oceans Canada, is a strategic planning tool for vessels navigating the Canadian Arctic. The government publishers begin by explaining that the guide, a compilation of data and services relevant to mariners
UKHO Publish World's First Security Paper Charts
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office's (UKHO) security charts are designed to protect against risks, including piracy. The two new Admiralty Maritime Security Charts, cover the waters around India and Southeast Asia, including the Malacca Straits.
Progress in Singapore with Navigational Safety
“In the coming decades, with the rise of Asia in the global economy, the importance of the Straits to the international community will grow exponentially. It is therefore essential that the Straits remain open, safe and secure.”
NOAA Seafloor Mapping Project Delivers Diverse Data
NOAA ship 'Thomas Jefferson' mapping Long Island Sound seafloor this summer contributes to a multi-level data gathering collaboration. In addition to updating NOAA’s nautical charts, ongoing collaborations in Long Island Sound will create products that depict physical, geological
APA & NOAA Cooperate to Keep Charts Current
NOAA and American Pilots’ Association (APA) sign Memorandum of Agreement to advance safe navigation in coastal waters. Dr. Kathryn Sullivan , NOAA Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation & Prediction, signs an agreement that recognizes the longstanding
NI Issues ECDIS Recommendations
The ECDIS Group's core message: Shipping companies should establish ECDIS-use guidance within their Safety Management Systems. The ECDIS Training Group is an industry body made up of leading international shipping organisations and co-ordinated by The Nautical Institute (NI).
Not Safe to Anchor After All
NOAA chart reveals underwater hazard for proposed anchorage area near Bayou Goula Crossing channel of Mississippi River. Cartographers from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey recently flagged a potentially dangerous situation during their review of a proposed federal rule establishing new
NOAA and U.S. Power Squadrons Renew Program
This week, NOAA and the U.S. Power Squadrons, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe boating, will renew a 50-year commitment to a cooperative charting program that helps to update the nation's thousands of navigational charts.
OceanGrafix to Print NOAA's New POD Coast Pilots
OceanGrafix, now approved as Print-on-Demand (POD) printer/distrubutor for NOAA's US Coast Pilot Series. In conjunction with NOAA’s new process of making weekly online updates to the U.S. Coast Pilot books, OceanGrafix will print the books that reflect all updates and corrections.
Great Lakes: US, Canada, Eliminate ENC Overlap
To comply with internationally agreed practices, Canada & the U.S. are eliminating overlapping coverage of electronic navigational charts (ENCs). New changes will soon take effect in the Great Lakes. Under the new ENC coverage scheme, each country is changing their areas of coverage so that
Chart Agent, ECS Provider, Move Office
ChartWorld & SevenCs have moved offices to the heart of Hamburg opposite the BSH (German Hydrographic Office). “As the companies are growing, we now have enough space to accommodate the team now and in the future. The new office and its location are a big step forward for us and will
Snowflake Software to provide GML Encoding
Snowflake Software, specialist in data exchange solutions via Open Standards, has been awarded a contract by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to provide an open standard Geography Markup Language (GML) encoding and profile for a basic route specification S-100 based maritime data
'Pst... Wanna Buy a Cheap Chart?'
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) sees an increase in the number of counterfeit versions of its Admiralty charts & publications. Counterfeit documents do not satisfy SOLAS carriage requirements, as they have not been issued by an officially approved government body or authorised hydrographic